Shattered Reflection
by RobotToxic
Summary: Twins Kiara & Liam Lavellan face a two hard tasks, running the Inquisition & stopping Corypheus. But something more troubling appears to the twins. A being that looks like her brother, the Champion's Warden friend and Leliana asking if they have met Liam before. Something is not right. Many things are revealed to them that make them question what they have known all their lives...
1. Chapter 1

Why hello! My name is RobotToxic and welcome to my new and first Dragon Age fanfiction! I hope you guys enjoy it! Oh, and terribly sorry if it seems slow at the moment...have to build it up, ya know?

*The only characters I own are Kiara and Liam Lavellan. The rest belong to Bioware

* * *

The Keeper of the Dalish clan Lavellan was in her tent, taking inventory of the artifacts that the hunters gathered on their last run. An ancient knife, a coin, a weird looking statuette…among other things. Of all the clan's time in this part of the Free Marches, they have never had a find like this before. She was about finished until she heard someone approach, her ears perking up a little at the detection. She turned around to see her First, smiling at her. " _Da'len_."

Her First dipped her head at her. Her hair was as dark as the night sky, pulled back in a ponytail to keep her hair out of her eyes. Her eyes were ghostly, they were orange in color. They made her look sinister and looked like they had a red glow to them. Around her left eye was a red _Vallaslin_ that represents Andruil, the goddess of the hunt. Her ears were smaller than an average elf but they stuck out a couple of inches more than average. Her nose was small, too, but not too small. It was between small and medium, its tip an average size and was going up a little. Even in the fire light, you could see that her cheek bones were of medium size but the fullness of her cheeks made up for it, making it hard to see her cheek bones. In general, she had a round face, her jaw small and along with her chin, neither stuck out. Her brow and forehead didn't stick out. She was wearing the traditional uniform of a First, but it was blue instead of green and she had long sleeves. "Keeper." She was leaning against her staff, a tall, gnarled stick with a stone bottom and the top, thick branches wrapped around a fire-like stone. "I hear that you wanted to speak with me."

"Yes…you do know of the violence between mages and Templars that plagues Thedas, correct?" She motioned the young First to come in. They sat down on the small bench that one of the hunters found in a cave of ancient elven origin.

She nodded. "Yes. I have…erm, at least of what the hunters have gossiped about…why?"

"I know this is a lot to ask of you, _da'len_ , and it will be out of your experience, but I have been informed that the leaders this mage rebellion and the Templars are meeting to make peace talks," the Keeper explained. "And…for the safety of the clans, including our own, I need you to go to this meeting and see how it will affect us."

Her First stared at her with large eyes, blinking a couple of times to process the Keeper's request. "…Let me…get this straight. You want me to go to a meeting? That the _shemlens_ made to try to get the war to end? Alone?"

The Keeper nodded. "Yes. I want you to spy on them."

Her First made a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry if I sound rude but wouldn't it make more sense if you sent one of the hunters to the meeting? Instead of…?" She stopped when she saw how serious the Keeper was. She sighed heavily and rubbed her temples. She got up from her seat, pacing around the tent a little. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll go to the meeting…where is it? Kirkwall? Wycome?"

"The Temple of Sacred Ashes."

"The Temple of—?! Keeper, that's…that's in the Frostbacks! In Ferelden…that's a long trip! And it's just to spy on the Templar and mage peace talks?"

The Keeper stood up as well. "To see how this war between them will affect not just the Dalish, but all elves, yes." She sighed. "I know how you feel of the humans, Kiara, but you have to go."

Kiara groaned and rubbed her neck. "I have no problem with the _shems_ …I…am just worried of being found. And going…by myself."

"Would you feel better if I sent someone to get you to the Temple?"

"A little…" an idea lit up in Kiara's head. "Keeper— _Hahren_ —I know that this is a terrible request to make but I want…my brother to come with me."

"Your brother?" The Keeper shook her head. " _Da'len_ , it is already dangerous to ask you to go to the talks but having your brother come as well is even more dangerous."

"I know but you know him just as well as I do. When he figures out you're sending me all the way to Ferelden, he'll want to come with me," Kiara told her. "And there will be a giant debate between you and him in front of the whole clan that will probably embarrass you both…maybe you more than him." She looked in Keeper in the eyes. "Think about it…I know it's dangerous to send us both but it's just as dangerous to go by myself."

The Keeper thought for a moment before asking her, "You do know you are asking me to protect this clan from spirits and demons all on my own, yes?"

Kiara nodded. "I do…I really do but Keeper, you are the most powerful of us. After all, this isn't the first time you've been by yourself."

"Yes, but you and your brother were going to research the ruins that the hunters found. That was only a few days, _da'len_. The trip to Ferelden will take weeks and Creators know how long you will have to be there. The clan will go with only its Keeper to protect them for months, possibly, if I send you both."

"I know, I know! I know…just…" Kiara sighed, hanging her head, seeing that her request was defeated. "Ah, that was a stupid question to ask. Sorry, _hahren_ …I'll…go and gather my things." She turned on her heal and headed out of the tent, heading to her own. The made a soft snort to herself. 'Her things'…the only things she had were the clothes she was wearing and her staff. That was it. She should just head to Ferelden right now. No goodbyes what so ever. Maybe her twin brother won't try to go after her if she left right know. She was about to go with the plan until she heard the Keeper's careful footsteps come after her.

"Wait." Kiara turned around to face the Keeper. The Keeper sighed heavily and dipped her head before saying, "You are right, Kiara…I cannot send you to the Temple alone. I will allow you to take Liam with you."

At the sound of his name, Liam came up to them. "I heard my name. What did I do this time?" Liam was the oldest of the twins and even though he was an elf, he was on the tall side but he was still a twig. His eyes were so bright of blue, they would pierce through your soul. They almost seemed they were glowing. He kept his dirty blonde hair well, a piece of his outgrowing bangs was swept to the side while the rest was short and proper like. The brown-colored _Vallaslin_ on his face represented Falon'Din, friend of the dead. His ears were on the long side but they didn't stick out like most elves. His nose was of a decent size, but much like his sister, the tip of his nose was sticking up a little but it was a tad fuller. Also like his sister, his brow and forehead didn't stick out but that's where their facial similarities end. His bridge was straight unlike the steep slope his sister had. His chin stuck out a little and his jaw was thin along with his cheeks, allowing his cheek bones to be more noticeable than Kiara's. He was wearing a red scarf around his neck over a sleeveless harness version a First's armor, but it was the traditional green unlike Kiara's blue. His staff was made of sleek white ash wood where the tip simply wrapped around a dark stone. The bottom had two outward spikes in case something decided to get too close to him.

"You have done nothing wrong, _da'len_ ," the Keeper assured him. "You are actually going on an assignment with your sister."

"Oh. Fun, what is it we're doing? Going to another ruin of some kind?" Liam asked.

"Not exactly…" Kiara gripped onto her brother's arm, shifting her head to the side to tell him to follow her before letting go of his arm. He followed beside her, seeing that they were heading to the camp's exit. The Keeper walked behind them as Kiara explained, " _Hahren_ wants us to go the Templar and mage rebel peace talks in Ferelden."

"What?" Liam stopped in his tracks and spun around to face the Keeper. "Why are we going there? Why should we bother with the _shemlens_ and their stupid war?" His dislike for humans was stronger than Kiara's, but it wasn't the stereotypical hate that the Dalish have. It was more on a personal level, not the "the _shemlens_ took everything from us and know we have almost nothing of our culture left and we can't set roots" kind of hate.

"Because it can affect the Dalish and possibly all elves, whatever is decided at the talks," the Keeper quickly explained.

"Well, when you put it _that_ way…" Kiara flicked his ear at his rude sarcasm. "Ow! Okay, okay! To Ferelden we go…where in Ferelden exactly?"

"The Frostbacks…more specifically…the Temple of Sacred Ashes," Kiara answered.

Liam stared at his sister then at the Keeper before looking at the ground, kicking the loose dirt and crosses his arms over his chest. "Oh, even more fun. I get to freeze my arse off while in a temple dedicated to What's-Her-Butt, listening to hostile _shems_ whine and complain. What can possibly go wrong?"

Kiara rolled her eyes and made a grunt of disgust at her brother's attitude but shrugged it off. She somewhat expected his reaction to be like this anyway. He didn't like humans all that well, and for good reason too, but sometimes his remarks on the humans and their culture made her clench her teeth. She turned to face the Keeper as well and bowed a little. "We will contact you as soon as we can, Keeper."

"Of course. And please…" the Keeper hugged the twins. "Be safe…I do not want to plant seedlings for either one of you."

Liam hugged the Keeper back. "We'll be fine…Mother."

Their mother let the twins go, petting their hair. "Please stay safe. May Mythal watch over you on this journey."

"And may Mythal watch over you and the rest of the clan…and may Andruil bless our hunter's hunts," said Kaira with a small smile. Her and her brother turn on their heels and headed out of the camp, starting their journey to the Frostback Mountains.

The Keeper watched them leave and said under her breath, " _Dareth shiral_ …" before returning to camp.

As they headed out, Liam made a small chuckle and thought aloud, "So. Clan Lavellan without its First and Second…Mom's going to have her hands full.

Kiara made a small huff. "Yeah, no kidding. By the way, she originally wanted only me to go the Temple. I had to convince her to let you come along with me."

"Really? What did you say to make her let me come?"

"That you'd made an embarrassment out of you and her in front of the whole clan, begging on your hands and knees to have you come along," Kiara answered with a smirk.

"O-o-oh…so that's how it is huh?" Liam smiled at his sister and ruffled her hair a little. "Well, I guess I would beg her to have me come with you…but not on my hands and knees."

"Because your ego is too big for that?"

"Yea—hey!"

"Mythal will have her hands full protecting you…" Kiara joked.

Liam smirked at her. "I was going to say the same thing about you." He pushed her playfully. "Now, enough of that. Let's get to What's-Her-Butt's temple." He took the lead, using his staff as a walking stick.

Kiara titled her head to the side, giving him a confused look, slowing down a little. "I think her name is Andraste…"

Over his shoulder, not stopping, he immediately replied back, his voice a mix of snark and playfullness, "Same thing."

* * *

After three weeks' time, the twins got into the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Rumor has it that it was restored not all that long ago. They could tell, they have been able to go down three stories within the Temple without getting noticed. The white marble pillars that held up the floors above were still gleaming in the many lit torches light. There were so many torches, the inside of the Temple could be mistaken as day. Kiara and Liam started to get uncomfortable with all the statues that outlined the halls along with the pillars, as well as the paintings of Andraste and the Maker and other things that were Andrastian. Their eyes seemed to follow them everywhere. As they got closer to the main chamber, a large room that was at the center of the Temple that had a tall ceiling, apparently a mural of Andraste was painted on the ceiling, and more importantly, where the peace talks would take place.

Liam clenched his fists tight, mumbling a little under his breath. Kiara raised an eyebrow at him. "Liam? Is something wrong?"

"We're taking steps in a forbidden zone…a different religion, culture…that destroyed ours," Liam growled.

This surprised Kiara, Liam wasn't usually the one to talk about the fall of the elves, or get angry about it. But it was still an upsetting topic…and Kiara understood. She had a tight feeling in her chest, a feeling of trespassing. The feeling of that they were on forbidden ground. For the moment, Kiara shook off the feeling and sighed, placing her hand on her brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Liam. We're here to get information and then get out. Simple as that. It's not like we're coming here on a holy visit."

Liam smiled a little. "Heh, yeah…the day I become Andrastian is the day when Fen'Harel apologizes for deceiving the Creators." Suddenly, his smile dropped. His ears perked up. "Did you here that?"

Kiara listened hard then shook her head. "I don't hear anything…" Suddenly, her stomach began to churn, her head buzzing. She held onto her head. "Gah…"

Liam gripped onto Kiara's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Kiara looked up, her eyes drifting around. "There is a dark magic here…"

Liam's eyes widened. His sister's connection to the Fade was much stronger than his, giving her abilities that an average mage wouldn't be able to do. It was the reason why she was made First instead of him, her magic and spirits and demons was much stronger than his. "Where? Where do you sense it?"

Kiara pointed down the hall. "This way." She wielded her staff, her brother doing the same. "This magic…it…it doesn't belong here…it's…it's evil…" She closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the magic. She started to have a metallic taste in her mouth. She growled at that. She knew what that meant. Her eyes opened and a scowl formed on her lips. "Blood magic."

"Blood—? _Here_? Why?" Liam's eyes became steely, not a trace of his playful, snarky self were in his eyes. They became serious. "I hate asking this…but we both know that means some kind of ritual. And it's most likely not for the greater good. Do you sense any…any demons?"

Kiara shrugged her shoulders and closed her eyes once more to stretch out her senses. She may have stronger magic than her brother but it was still quite a stain on her to sense if there are demons or spirits in the area. Kiara pushed to the side the shadows of souls that have walked through the hall over all the ages, spirits and mortals alike, knowing that these were not it. One of the spirits took great curiosity in her, and it looks like it took interest in her brother as well, but Kiara pushed it away as well. _'I am sorry but you are not the one I am looking for,'_ Kiara apologized to the spirit in her head. She took her focus farther and farther. She gasped suddenly and her eyes snapped open, stumbling backwards into the arms of her brother. Her heart was pounding, her ears ringing. It took her a moment to realize she was shaking…and that she dropped her staff.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's alright, Kiara!" Liam told her. He spun her around and gripped her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "What was it? I've never seen you react like that before…I was about to pull you back but…you kinda did that yourself. B-But still…" Liam took a breath before asking, "Are you alright?"

Kiara nodded slowly and brushed her brother's hands off of her shoulders. She watched him pick up her staff and gripped it tightly once it returned to her hands. She took a deep, calming breath. "I have no idea what it was. I didn't even see it. I-I sensed it and…I just…I panicked."

"I've never heard of a demon like that before…if that's what it was…" Liam shook his head and ruffled her hair. "Don't scare me like that…the only time you should act like that is when I put a bug under your pillow or something."

Kiara forgot what had happened, what she had felt. She punched his arm. "So that _was_ you."

Liam made a small laugh and rubbed his arm, nodding. Then he got serious again. "Kiara, lead the way to the mages that are using blood magic." He followed his sister down the hallway. He then noticed how empty the halls seemed…that getting this far into the temple without getting noticed was a little _too_ easy. "Where is…everyone?"

"I don't know." Kiara flinched suddenly, making a small grunt of pain. "It's getting stronger. Hurry." They quickened their pace. Kiara ears picked up on a voice, what sounded to be a woman's. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Someone's in trouble...I don't care if it's a _shem_ in trouble. We need to help them." Liam and Kiara burst into a run, to the doors at the end of the hallway, bursting through the doors. It was the last thing they remembered of that day.

* * *

Sorry for stopping right there! But if I didn't stop there, then the chapter would have been too long! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know what you think! Farewell


	2. Chapter 2

*The only characters I own are Kiara and Liam Lavellan. The rest belong to Bioware

* * *

Those were two of the many memories that played in Liam's head as he made his way through the howling winds and the crunching deep snow. He was cold. Dangerously cold. His face was numb along with the rest of his body. He had to focus hard on getting his legs to move. One of his arms was wrapped around his sister so he wouldn't lose track of her in the blinding whooshing snow while the other shielded his eyes so they couldn't get stung by the sharp ice crystals. He could feel her shivering madly, just as he was. They never experienced this kind of cold before, let alone a blizzard before. Everywhere he looked, all he could see was white. He even had trouble seeing his sister, the blowing snow was so insane. It was easily near or below zero. Liam looked over to his sister.

Kiara's face was red from frostbite and so were her ears. Her lips were parted open and bleeding, he could see her teeth clatter together. Her eyes glowed orange in the dark blizzard but they looked weary and were clouded with pain. Her arm was loosely holding on to her torso, were a dark circle of red grew through her robes as time passed. When they awoke after the avalanche that buried Haven, Liam found his sister had landed on a sharp rock, cutting her side. With his magic, he was able to get the bleeding to slow down but he knew that the spell won't last much longer. When he wasn't able to stop the bleeding as he intended to, he cursed at himself. He would not lose his sister to this cause, this Inquisition, or this Corypheus…he just won't. He offered to carry her once she had awoken, which was about almost immediately after Liam did the best he could for her wond, but she refused, for he most likely bruised a couple of ribs and she didn't want to hurt him even more. Not to mention he also could have a concussion too. They did fall into a stone hole in the ground, that is. It was most likely he, and herself as well, banged their head on something. Maybe more than one something.

Liam hissed a little when his sister suddenly tumbled against him. He caught her and even though it was killing him, he supported her weight. "Kiara?" He could barely hear his own voice over the howling winds.

Kiara only whimpered in reply. The pain was starting to come back, the spell was wearing off. But she was able to stand on her own again and they continued to go forward, slower now. "H-How...much f-f-further...?" She asked behind clattering teeth.

"I-I don't know, but w-we have to keep going..." Liam answered. "Th-The spell is wearing off...w-we need t-to f-find the...the others..." He put his sister's arm behind his neck, gripping onto her wrist tightly, and pulled her closer to him with his other arm. "W-We need to get you t-to a healer...a-and fast..." Kiara didn't even argue with him, making his fear for her grow.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the green flashing of the Mark on his sister's left hand. It made him growl at the sight of it. Then he saw his own on his right hand. His anger only grew. Apparently, he and Kiara gained the blasted Marks when the conclave exploded…and he and her were the only ones to survive the blast. A…rather scary woman, to Liam at least, named Cassandra explained to them when they appeared, the sky tore open, what she called a "Breach", and that the blast killed the Divine Justina. At first, Liam had no idea what that meant, but he learned quickly that the Divine was someone very important to the humans. He didn't care about it, he didn't want to help the human, but he didn't have much of a choice. The Mark was killing him as the Breach got bigger…that and Kiara insisted that they helped. They learned quickly that they, and they alone, could close the Breach…and Fade Rifts. One thing led to another and the next thing they knew, they were part of an organization called the Inquisition and the humans started calling them "The Heralds of Andraste". Creators, Liam hated that title. Along with Kiara, they denied the title, and the rumor that the woman that appeared behind them when they fell out of the Fade was Andraste. Liam denied it a bit harsher than Kiara, correcting people, rather rudely, when people called him or her Herald. But he soon gave up…and Kiara requested him to be kinder to the humans. But the title…and the rumor, still bothered him.

Another thing that bothered him was that he, and his sister, couldn't remember what happened in the Fade. They originally didn't know how they got the Marks, either…but that…has changed. Liam would have preferred that it stayed that way instead of knowing the truth. Before they buried Haven, it was revealed that the Marks came from an orb that Corypheus had. That disturbed him, greatly. And also the fact that they, Corypheus's words exactly, "Your Anchors are permanent. They are spoiled with your stumblings." He hated the stupid thing. Sure, it didn't change him, but ever since he got it, it feels like his nerves were on fire. All. The. Time. But not right now, his body was too numb. Liam didn't know if that was a comfort or that should be a very, very large concern.

Liam was taken back into reality when he fell over, his side heavier than usual. It took him a moment to realize that he was face first in the snow. Slowly, and shakily, he picked himself up, struggling to support his own weight. When he lifted himself up, the extra weight on his side disappeared. Liam looked around, in a daze, his eyes going over a limp form lazy, then they snapped back over to it. "Kiara!" He scrambled over to her, scooping her up in his arms. Her face was twisted in pain. "A-Are you okay…?"

Kiara shook her head slowly. She glanced down to where she was impaled and winced, lifting her hand up to see that the red stain was growing larger…and faster. Her shaking became more rapid than before.

Liam stared at her wound in horror. His hand ghosted over it, not knowing what to do, panic taking over him. His eyes went to hers, seeing the pain and agony in them grow. "D-Don't w-w-worry…I-I-I…I can get it. I-I c-can fix it." He closed his eyes and channeled all his magic to his hand. He was concentrating so hard, he could have burst a nerve in his brain, straining himself. He opened his eyes and panted in exhaustion before he tried again but nothing happened. His panic grew. "I d-don't understand…I-I can't…it won't…!" He looked back over to Kiara and his heart nearly stopped. "K-Kiara?" Her eyes were shut, her head slumped against his chest. "N-No…no!" He shook her a little, trying not to hurt her more. "Kiara." She did not respond. He shook her a bit harder. "K-K-Kiara…?!" He put his hand on her cheek, it was cold. But then again, his hands were cold and red. The redness in her face had paled, leaving the frost bite and wind burn marks. His panic and fear was reduced when he could still see her breath in the cold air. He slid his arm under her knees and wrapped the other around her shoulder tightly before standing up slowly.

Liam fell down when a sharp pain shot in his ribs, wheezing a little, before trying again. It hurt just as much…but he was prepared for it this time. He took a few clumsy steps and he was worn out already, his ribs about killing him. His sister was surprisingly light but it was still extra weight he shouldn't be carrying. He knew that he had to find the others fast. He won't be able to carry her for very long.

* * *

It seemed like Liam has been walking for ages but there was no way to tell that the time…and his mind wasn't able to keep track of it anymore. The storm was fading but the snow was still blowing, cutting at Liam's skin like small knives. He couldn't feel anything anymore, his mind blank, wandering aimlessly. He was so cold he wasn't shivering anymore, his body unable to do that function anymore. He wouldn't be surprised if his ears have fallen off. His scarf wasn't on his neck anymore, rather he put it on Kiara. It seemed that the deep cold was slowing her bleeding but her breathing had slowed. To keep track of her, his eyes stayed on her, to see if he could still see her breath. Which he could. But he didn't know how much longer he would be. He was getting tired…his breathing growing shallow and weary. He dropped to his knees, his focus wavering. He couldn't feel his legs, his anything. His hold on his sister loosened, her being threatened to getting dropped. Liam blinked slowly, looking at his surroundings absent-mindedly. The snow still blew but he could see the tall pines of the mountains and the mountains themselves, the dark grey clouds that blocked the moon. His vision became fuzzy and started to go dark.

" _Hey."_

Liam's state came back to the real world for a moment, his eyes moving lazily around the snowy landscape. His mind started to go blank again.

" _Hey!"_

Liam was more alert this time. "Huh…?" He looked around some more and then his eyes drifted over with straight forward and if his body wasn't completely numb, he would have jumped. It was a blue…transparent…what was it? "Wha…"

The being got closer to him and to his sister, kneeling in front of them. Liam narrowed his eyes on it, forcing himself to focus. What…was this thing? Was it a spirit? Or more likely, a hallucination? As he looked at the being longer, the more of a shape the being had. It…looked…like him? The being looked like Liam. He couldn't believe his eyes. What was this? For the first time in a while wandering in this snowy wasteland, his mind was working hard to make sense of things. If this was a spirit…how was Liam able to see it? His magic and sensing of spirits (and demons) wasn't as well trained or as strong as Kiara's, it didn't make sense. It could be plausible that his still active and pulsing Mark was providing him with more power, but he doubted it. He started to lean towards more that he was just seeing things. The being looked over him and his sister, its expression saddened. Then it looked back up at Liam. It voice was echoing, its mouth not moving, _"You can't give up. You are almost there to where your people are camped…"_

Liam shook his head, not caring anymore what the being could be. His clattering teeth and shivering voice was making it hard to make sense of his words, "I-I-I c-c-can't…f-f-feel...any…thing…I-I-I can't…m-move…I-I-I don't e-e-even…know w-w-where the…others a-are…I-I don't-don't know where I-I'm going…" He looked down, his eyes closed. "I-I-I…c-can't…"

The being frowned. It's hands grabbed Liam's shoulders, sending a sudden jolt through him. A burst of unknown energy. _"You aren't giving up. You need to get you and your sister safe. The storm is calming down now but it will return soon and being out in the open will kill you. And your sister doesn't have much time. The bleeding may have slowed but she is so cold that her body isn't working correctly anymore and the longer she is out here, she will die quickly…and painfully. And your body is getting affected like hers, too. You'll soon die too. There are too many people waiting for you both to return. You need to keep going. You have to."_ The being stood up, Liam's eyes following it. It pointed ahead. _"You are close. So close…you need to get to safety. Once you get there, they will heal you, get you better."_ It turned back to face Liam and it smiled gently at him _. "You will be safe. The both of you."_ It disappeared as fast as it came.

Liam stared at were the being once was, confused and in awe at the same time. But he shook it away and looked down to his sister, who was paler than she was the last time he checked. When was the last time he checked? His mind had been fogged over for so long, he couldn't remember how resent…or how long ago he last checked on her. With a pained grunt, Liam got back up to his feet, he staggered a little but the two-and-a-half-foot snow kept him on his feet. His grip on his sister grew tight again. "Don't worry, Kiara…I'll get you somewhere safe." He waded through the deep, crunching snow.

Even though Liam had a lack of experience with snow, he could tell it was freshly fallen. The snow beneath him made a poof of sparkling white with each wobbly step he took. The snow had stopped falling and the wind was no longer howling or cutting at his exposed skin, chilling him to the bone. He could hear wolves howl at the full moon in the far distance. Judging by the sound of their cries, he knew that they were nowhere near him. He was at least safe from being mauled by wolves. His eyes were focused ahead, his mind now having a goal, a solid one. In the back of his mind, however, he wondered at what he saw. He wondered if it was real or not, a spirit or a hallucination…and why it looked so much like himself but with a different voice. But that's where those questions rested for now, in the back of his mind. Right now, Liam's mind was set on finding the camp of the survivors of Haven. As he continued on, his energy still going strong, he squinted when he saw something appear as he got closer to the top of the small hill. When he got there, hope surged through him. It was a kettle over a fire pit. The best he could, he hurried over to it. His eyes widened to see that the grey and black ashes below the hanging kettle still had the small red glowing pieces of embers underneath. Someone was here recently, and he hoped that it was the people he has been searching for.

As he continued on, the new-found energy started to fade, and fast. He was getting short of breath, the pain in his ribs returning. The shivering started to return. Liam's legs felt as they were made of lead, unable to pick them up as high or move them as much. He started to stagger in the deep snow, sinking into it now since he stopped in one place for a period of time. But he kept going, the words of the being still in his mind. He repeated them under his shaky breath, "Y-You can't…give up…" As he continued his small climb up another hill, the horizon seemed to glow a soft orange. Liam's shaking was starting to take a toll on him again, he could barely stay on his feet. But when he reached the top and looked down to the valley below, he made a weary sigh of relief. Liam could see tents…and people around fires to keep warm in the distance. And more importantly, the banners he saw waving gently in the breeze.

"There!" A familiar voice yelled. "There they are!" It took a minute for Liam to realize that the voice belonged to Cullen.

"Thank the Maker!" That was Casandra's voice.

When Liam looked up from his sister, he saw Cullen, Casandra, Leliana, and Josephine running towards them. The energy that Liam had left depleted and he could no longer stay on his own feet. He crashed hard into the ground, falling to his side so that he wouldn't squish Kiara.

He saw the commander come towards them in the corner of his eye, seeing him kneel beside them. "Maker, what happened to you two?" Liam then assumed Cullen saw Kiara's wound when he heard him say, "Josephine, tell the healers to be ready! Lady Lavellan is injured and unconscious." He saw the Commander pick Kiara up.

Liam felt hands grab both of his arms and lifted him up to his feet, feeling his arms getting laid on shoulder, Leliana and Casandra were helping him move. They ended up dragging him between them, Liam no longer having the strength to move.

"Herald, can you hear me?" Leliana's voice asked.

"He's freezing, Leliana…he can't even move," spoke Casandra. He heard her say to him as his vision went dark, "Don't worry, you and your sister will be alright." They were the last words he heard when everything went dark. The last thing he saw was the being he met earlier smiling at him.

* * *

There's the second chapter! I hope you liked it and left you wondering what that being was, yes? (I'm an evil little thing ^-^) Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

*The only characters I own are Kiara and Liam Lavellan. The rest belong to Bioware

* * *

 _His surroundings were dark at first, as his eyes opened slowly. His head was buzzing, as if he slammed it hard on stone. There was a pressure on his knees, telling him he was on them…and for some time. His vision was still blurry, not able to make out anything except he was in a low lit room of some sort and…was he surrounded? He could hardly tell. His vision refused to clear, it tinted with darkness like he had awoken from a long nap. Along with his vision, his mind was covered with a fog as well. It was hard to keep his eyes open, the darkness coming completely like pulses. He did not know what this state was but whatever it was, he will slip back into it soon. But his hearing seemed to return…however, his slowed mind had a difficult time to keep up with it, disoriented._

 _Through his internal fog, he picked up on a voice, "…I do not like this. He's so…so familiar…" It was definitely a female, but the voice sounded odd. The accent was unknown to him but it seemed light. If only he could concentrate...he almost lost track of the voice before he made himself to listen._

 _A new voice emerged. It was also a female but this voice was rough, deeper than the other one. A different, and thicker, accent filled the voice but like the other voice, it was unfamiliar. "Are you sure that this man is him?"_

 _"No…I know what I saw." The voice faded out for a moment. What were they talking about? Were they…talking about him? He made himself go through the fog and listen to them again, the first woman was still talking, "…She was heartbroken when he appeared. She could hardly get herself to keep going. But what we saw all those years ago was merely a ghost. A memory."_

 _Memory? Now who they were talking about? And this ghost…he was certain that he was alive, even though it felt like he wasn't. But the curiosity didn't last. The voices faded along with his vision, succumbing into the darkness once more._

* * *

 _He was now in what looked like a forest, it reminded him of back home. Everything looked and seemed so tall, the trees, the grass…the wild life rushed past him as he giggled between sharp intakes of breath, his bare feet stomping a path through the grass as he ran. The tall grass was cutting at his skin as he zoomed past it. He seemed so close to the ground, when he looked over his shoulder. His grin was ear to ear. He made a small "oof!" when he ran into something solid, making him fall._

 _"What are you doing way out here,_ da'len _?" A young voice asked. He looked up to see a young girl, around twelve maybe, looking down to him. She had bright orange hair, and with the sun behind her, it seemed it was on fire. She wore it up, a single braid handing down to her collar bone. He couldn't make out her face…it seemed…fuzzy. But her voice was so familiar…she crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you running off from your brother again?"_

 _Brother?_

 _He turned around when he heard a young voice call out, but he couldn't make out what it said._

 _The girl placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him. "Uh-oh, he's getting close….here, come here!" she lead him to a tree that was hallow. "I'll tell him that you went back to camp so you can spend more time with your favorite hunter-in-training, yes?" She laughed a little and had him hide in the tree before heading off when the voice sounded again, but this time, it was louder. He poked his head out of the tree to see where she went but everything went fuzzy. All he saw dirty, messy blond hair…_

* * *

Liam eyes opened slowly at a loud buzzing within his skull like a swarm of angry wasps were trapped there. He lifted his arm and plopped his iron-heavy hand onto his forehead, sliding it down his face before rubbing his eyes. He felt as if he has been asleep for far too long, his body numb to him. The feeling of his entire body slowly, but surely, returned. With a low grunt, he sat up, the hand that he smeared across his face landing into his lap. The last thing he remembered was...was the avalanche. His mind went into full alert, his eyes opening fully. His head snapped to the side when he heard a small hush. Sitting on a stool beside him was Mother Giselle.

"You need rest," she said to him in a quiet, comforting voice.

Liam situated himself so that he sat on the edge of...a stretcher? He looked up to meet the Mother's eyes. "My sister. Is she—?"

Mother Giselle nodded, already seeing the concern he had for his twin in his eyes. "She is alright. Her wounds were treated and now she is resting. You are both lucky that you had found the camp when you did...many of us were worried that you would join the Maker-"

Liam formed a scowl at the mention of the Maker. "No disrespect but I believe Falon'Din would be the one we would have joined," he stated in a rather harsh tone. 'No disrespect'...that was a lie through and through. He tried to respect the _shem's_ religions and philosophies, like his sister did, but that got old real fast and real quick. Just hearing someone say the 'M word' or the 'A word', according to him, it made his skin crawl. He'll stick with his Creators, thank you very much.

Mother Giselle's face did not change to Liam's rude interruption, not showing emotion that he shot down her Maker. But then again...this wasn't the first time he did this, she was used to it. She simply dipped her head at him before saying, "She is in the next tent, resting, as I said."

"Is she alone?" Liam asked. "Can I see her?"

"She is not alone. Solas is with her for the time being, checking if the Mark on her hand was affected. If she has recovered as quickly as you have, it should be alright," Mother Giselle answered. "You may see her, once the healers believe you are fit to see her."

Liam huffed lightly at the mention of Solas. He didn't know what to make of him. To Liam, the apostate elf seemed to be always hiding something. He knew that Kiara doesn't like to be in close proximity to him, even though they got along just fine. She told him once that she could tell when Solas was close by, her head would hurt a little and her senses would go off the charts, which was weird because that's something similar to when she can sense a spirit nearby. But that can't be right, Solas is full elf. Maybe it was his mana she could sense...but he's never heard of sensing mana like that. But other than that, Solas is alright to Liam. He wouldn't consider Solas a friend, though, more of an acquaintance.

Liam groaned and held onto his abdomen as he stood up. "And that's what I'm going to do. I can rest later." His right leg dragged a little behind him as he made his way into the open. He saw that the white landscape was littered with tents, soldiers and civilians...survivors of Haven, walking around, going from fire to fire. Some were limping as he was and some weren't. As he continued out, he started to figure out part of his headache. Around the fire in front of his tent was the war council, arguing with each other. Rather loudly. Liam rolled his eyes at them, not caring to see what they were bickering over this time. Priority number one was seeing if Kiara was as alright as Mother Giselle had claimed. He poked his head into the tent that was next door.

"Well, look who else returned from the land of the dead!...Again."

Liam made a small, amused huff through his nose. He entered the tent. "Hey, it's what I do best. This is my...third time now since I joined the Inquisition? Yeah, that sounds right."

"Is that including what your companions believed in that future we were sucked into?"

"...Okay, fine, four. But I don't like counting that one because it was a different universe and weird time travel magic that still gives me a headache on just trying to figure out how it even works." Liam crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a post that was holding the tent canvas up. "I thought Solas was going to be with Kiara, not you, Dorian."

Liam, along with Kiara and three of their companions, met Dorian in the Redcliffe chantry where they had to seal a Fade Rift that altered time. With his help, Liam and Kiara were able to take down a Tevinter magister that had took control over the village and castle of Redcliffe by using time altering magic so he could get to the mages before the twins could make an alliance with Grand Enchanter Fiona. Not only that, the three were sent into a future where they discovered that the Empress was assassinated and the Elder One had taken control, and destroyed, the world. If they never went to Redcliffe, Liam feared that they would have never learned of the assassination plot or see what would have happen if the Inquisition failed. After the events of Redcliffe, Dorian decided to stick around and therefore, went on missions with the twins. Liam would never admit it, but he liked to travel with Dorian. He found him trustworthy and could rely on him to speak his mind. Plus, the two became friends rather quickly when once they were having a conversation and they heard Kiara comment on them, "Oh, Creators, now there's two of you." To Liam, Dorian is the greatest friend he met on the Inquisition's quest.

"Yes, well, you are half correct. Solas left not that long ago, I just came here myself," Dorian explained. "I wanted to see how one the Heralds was doing."

Before Liam had a chance to protest being called 'Herald', Kiara finally sat up on a stretcher that was similar to the one Liam was on and spoke up, "Which was nice of you to do, Dorian, but I'm alright...just a little sore."

Dorian laughed a little, "If I had a hole that went clear through my side that large, I would say the complete opposite."

"I can just imagine your complaining," Liam sarcastically commented.

"You would."

Kiara sighed heavily and sat herself on the edge of the stretcher. "Alright, you two, that's enough." She turned her head so she could look at Dorian. "I would like to have a word with my brother in private, if you don't mind Dorian."

"Kicking me out so quickly, Kiara?" Dorian put his hand over his heart, putting on a fake pout. "I'm wounded."

Liam shrugged his shoulders. "Can't be worse than our wounds."

"Point taken." Dorian started to head his way out. Before he exited the tent, he turned and said to the twins, "Oh, and guys? Don't pull off a stunt like that again. You had us all fearing for the worst." He left the twins alone.

Liam and Kiara watched Dorian leave, a silence falling between them at Dorian's words. The silence was soon broken when Liam said under his breath, "Can't make any promises..." He glanced over to his sister and smiled a little, the corner of his mouth rising into a half smile. He made his way to the make-shift bed stretcher she was still sitting on and made a long, soft groan as he made his way down to sit beside her, his ribs still bothering him. He did his best to sit up straight, to take pressure off of his rib cage but he couldn't help but slouch, he couldn't sit straight if his life depended on it. He rested his hand carefully on his sister's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Kiara glanced over to him and returned his small smile before gripping onto his hand. "I am fine...still sore, though. Bit of a headache."

"Same here." Liam let go of Kiara's shoulder and looked at the white snow below them, looking at all the footprints that were made by all of the people who were in here. There was hardly a patch of snow that hadn't been trampled. He could see the hurry of the footprints. Most of these must have been made by the healers and their assistances. His gaze returned to Kiara, asking her, "The impalement...how bad was it? Do you know?"

Kiara sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Her hand ghosted over where the spot was in her side. Her eyes left Liam and went to the ground as she spoke, "From what Dorian told me, he said that the healers were able to get it to seal shut but there will be a scar."

"That'll be a big and ugly scar...does it still—?"

"I can feel where it happened still, the pain like there's still a hole that you could see clear through me. I'm lucky I'm still alive...that we both are." Kiara made an amused chuckle before saying, "Mythal must think we have a great destiny, Liam...we survived the Conclave blast, in the dark future at Redcliffe, Haven...take your pick, all of those events had a very low survival rate. But that's what we did. Survive. But the question is, why us?"

"Um...a lot of people survived Haven because of us, Kiara," Liam told her, confusion hinting in his voice. "We made the call to stay behind and-"

"Face off the dragon and Corypheus," Kiara finished. She opened her left hand, a green light flashing violently at the action. Her eyes hardened at the sight of it. "That orb Corypheus had...the magic from it; it was very, very old. Just as Corypheus' magic was. But the orb, it was older and there was no taint to it like Corypheus' magic had."

"Meaning…?"

"The Anchors...or the Marks, Corypheus intended to use that magic but the magic to create it, it comes from the orb."

Liam scratched his head, messing up his hair a little. "Okay, now you lost me."

"My point is, the orb doesn't belong to Corypheus. If it did, I would have sensed the same magic from it as I did him," Kiara further explained. She sighed and shook her head. "But I guess that doesn't matter. I was just telling you what I felt when we encountered Corypheus."

"Yeah, magic wise. I don't know about you, but I was scared shitless...especially when he picked us up like we were nothing but carro—" Liam stopped himself, thinking of what Kiara said earlier. "Wait, what did you mean by 'taint'? You're talking like he's a..."

Kiara shrugged her shoulders and ran her hand on her hair, flattening her riled-up hair that had escaped her ponytail. "I know what I sensed, Liam. I'm no Grey Warden but that...thing was a darkspawn of some kind. I've encountered darkspawn magic before, we both have. At the elven ruins that we camped at for a night before we got to the Conclave, remember?"

Liam shuddered at the thought. "Thanks but I'd rather not remember those things. Ugly...mindless...ugh. I hate them worse than corpses...and I hate, hate, hate, hate corpses."

"I don't think anyone likes them," said Kiara. "But, if I'm right, about Corypheus, along with the theory his dragon is being an Archdemon...then we got a huge problem." With a low grunt, she slowly got up to her feet, her hand gripped tightly on Liam's shoulder to keep her balance before letting go of him. She wobbled a bit before she truly found her balance. She offered her hand to help Liam up, but he rejected it, before getting up to his feet as well. Her orange eyes were on him as she said, "We should warn the war council about what I sensed about Corypheus. A powerful magic-based darkspawn plus an Archdemon…"

Liam's usually playful eyes hardened into rare seriousness. "It could mean another Blight is coming," he finished. "That's not good...especially when the Grey Wardens are nowhere to be found."

"Exactly, now come on," Kiara slowly made her way out of the tent.

Liam cringed at the sight of her walking. Her torso wasn't in line with her legs, leaning slightly to the left. She used to walk so tall, her head high and confident but now, she was scrunched onto herself, slouching. She had a small limp. Liam could remember Kiara's body sprawled on rocks with one sprouting out of her like if it was another limb after the avalanche. He landed on the snow and some pebbles. Who knows what else they hit during their tumble down into the tunnels below Haven? But Kiara was right, they, especially her, were lucky to be alive. She was lucky to be able to even walk. That fall could have easily paralyzed her...or him. It was sad to Liam to see his sister's proud walk disappear. He shook his head a little, making himself forget what he saw in the tunnels, and followed Kiara out.


End file.
